Family Reveals 300 Year Old Recipe

A long time ago, a woman and her very hungry family found several old roots laying on a dirt path leading into the village. "Pick up that onion," said the mother to her son. He did. That night, in despair, the woman knew she only had a little bread, some cheese and a few onions to feed her family. But she also knew soup was the best way to fill their stomachs, and decided to boil the onion, with a little salt, and bones and blood from a pig. Several hours later the soup was ready; she poured her concoction into their bowls. She melted the cheese in the hot liquid and told them to dip the bread in the sauce.

This was the night French Onion Soup was born. Such simple and humble beginnings.

That original family was root to a large family tree that eventually spanned all continents and thousands of people. How do we know this? Her original onion soup recipe, passed down several generations, was the common thread. As each generation experimented, the eventual recipe matured. Time, however, lost the recipe, but for many years the family continued to tell the story of their great ancestor's onion soup. The clock ticked. Memories faded. And the story was told no more, but the legend remained.

Then one spring day in 1952, a family descendant went to France to bury his mother, and among the many boxes that contained her precious earthly belongings, he found a very old, locked wooden box. With no key, he placed it with all the belongings to be shipped to his new home on Long Island, NY in America. Many more decades passed when his son eventually found the box among his father's memories, and took it with him to Buffalo, NY. And it was in the winter of 1987 he opened it. The box was packed with folded and yellowing, fragile pieces of paper.

The man dared not touch the delicate paper in the box, as they were close to total disintegration. So he invited a curator friend to share a bottle of wine and help him discover if treasures might be waiting. At the very least, they would drink good wine and have a few laughs.

A curator has an instinct for things that tell a story, and this curator had a keen sense. Before he finished his first glass of wine, he told his friend that unfolding and documenting the contents had to be done correctly, lest they'd be destroyed in the process. Excitedly, he took the box and its contents to a technician at an old art museum and began the process of discovery.

Months passed, and one night, the curator came to visit. He had a stack of printed sheets with copies of the original papers, transcripts of what was written and of course, the box. Together, the men traveled centuries back in time, reading personal letters to Paul-Henri, from his mother, Marie-Brielle. In total there were 63 letters speaking of life on a farm in Châlons-sur-Marne in eastern France, the day-to-day tales, the struggle to survive. Several letters wrote of the gossip of the day but many described wonderful stories, encouraging her son to pass these memories to his generation and beyond. As their journey ended that evening, the curator removed the the last document, a recipe, a secret family recipe, simply titled 'la soupe a l'oignon'.

He was astonished. Although the man loved cooking, he had only heard tidbits from his family in France about a mythical onion soup recipe. Folklore. Legend. There was no more to it than that. But now, from a piece of paper dating back to July of 1711, he had a connection, reading the words represented by the fading ink her quill had deposited on the a piece of paper. He knew there was only one way to find out if this was the real thing. And that was to cook.

The man decided to try what was written, and by applying modern ingredients to match the old instructions, he practiced the ancient recipe. After much trial and error, the most incredibly delicious onion soup came to life again. Over the years his onion soup became famous within his family, and several well known restaurants in Chicago and New York City licensed its use. Those restaurants, recently closed, gave him an opportunity to share this with the world, and so we invite you to join the adventure.

Now, after revealing the story of the secret box to the entire family, we share with you the recipe for The Best Onion Soup In The World and the wonderful tales of Marie-Brielle.

Welcome to my site... my name is Charlie d'Estries; it was my father who went to France to bury his mother. Several hundred years ago my Very Great Grandmother (~10 generations ago), Marie-Brielle, wrote down a recipe that eventually became The Best Onion Soup In The World. Along with her spirit I welcome you to my onion soup adventure. If you have traveled to the great restaurants of Chicago and New York in the 1990s, chances are you have tasted this incredible soup; it is quite memorable. Over time you'll start seeing several variations I have perfected that I think Marie-Brielle would have really enjoyed... soups based on her basic recipe: potato-onion, leek-onion, broccoli-onion, tomato-onion and garlic-onion (keep an eye out for them; they're coming soon). So sign up for our Onion Soup Heaven Bulletins and when we have something new you'll be the first to know.

I welcome you to watch my videos (but you need to sign up first :), read a few of Marie-Brielle's tales (coming soon!) and of course, share our recipes with your family and friends.